


I Like You, No Matter What

by RAAMIsABeast



Series: Short Story Collection [13]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Character Turned Into Vampire, Implied Relationships, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-13 06:43:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16012436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RAAMIsABeast/pseuds/RAAMIsABeast
Summary: Tearing his inhuman gaze from Mason, Julian looked down at the floor, taking the towel from his head and placing it in a corner, to be taken down in the morning to be washed."I didn't want to scare any of you... And I didn't want you to see what I've become..."





	I Like You, No Matter What

**Author's Note:**

> Julian belongs to gaysketchingkid (Instagram)/ZolaTheBat (Archive Of Our Own)

Waking up with a banging headache, an aching neck and in a dirty alleyway was not what Julian had expected so early in the morning. It must be so early, in fact, that the sun's rays were yet to bleed into the night sky and prick the blackness into submission for the arrival of day.

He groaned as he sat up, rubbing the back of his neck and stretching. Big mistake. Agony shot through the left side of his neck and the man released a pained yelp, hand instinctively jerking to clasp the source of his pain. Julian froze in shock when his palm met two gaping holes half the circumference of a pencil and about an inch apart. Around the two holes, _teeth_ marks outlined the shape of a human mouth.

' _A bite... a vampire bite...'_ He couldn't help but think, remembering the news report on some vampires who were feeding from humans and then leaving them. The result of that encounter on the victims wasn't known as Julian had heard Mason and the kids returning from upstairs.

And now, Julian was laid in an alleyway, the evidence of an encounter with such a being on his neck and a family of three to return too. Granted, he wasn't meant to return until tomorrow but what would he say? How could he say it?

Flicking out his phone - glad he still had it - Julian figured it was time to call his boss for help. Surely the night crew had at least one vampire amongst them, right?

\---

Twenty four hours later and Julian was pacing outside his own house, a subtle headache on the horizon from the contact lens he now wore (to hide the crimson of his irises) and a simple plan to hide his condition from the others in his house. Well, he should probably refer to them as humans now...

Night was again his ally as he walked up the drive to his house, quietly unlocking the front door before toeing off his shoes. Every one else would be asleep now, so all he had to do was keep the noise down.

Drinking a few mouthfuls of water, Julian fixed himself something to eat. Even if it would hold little value to his transformed body. Tomorrow, he had the time to worry about how he was _actually_ going to get the sustenance a vampire thrived on.

At least the meat in his meal soothed some pangs of oncoming hunger, hopefully for the rest of the night. No belly grumbles at early hours in the morning for him.

His bedroom wasn't exactly how he had left it. Sure, all of his possessions were in their correct places but there was an extra addition Julian hadn't thought about due to the stress of this new revelation.

Mason, little Mason, asleep. Mason was asleep, in his bed. The in his bed part wasn't unusual, not since Julian had proved that sleeping in the same room as Mason helped to balm his mind after a nightmare. It was the asleep part which had caught the older man off guard.

The lad rarely slept on a good night, maybe a few hours at most, so walking in on him asleep was a miracle. Even with everything blowing up and falling into new places, the knowledge that tonight was a one in a blue moon night in which Mason gained more than a fee measly hours of sleep.

Slipping under the covers next to the lad felt more like a homecoming than Julian believed it had any right to be.

\---

Julian was sure that the longer he went without telling Mason, the harder it would be to tell him. Right now, he was in the shower. At three in the morning. The ginger haired man had needed to get away from the younger lad's heavenly scent, and the soft beating of his heart in his chest.

That was his internal struggle. To remain close enough to give the semblance of normality but far enough so that Mason didn't wake up one morning with twin holes on his neck, or, worse, didn't wake up at all.

Making matters worse was the fact that Mason had a very beautiful, slim neck. Now, that sounded weird and it most likely was weird, but hear Julian out here. As pale as the lad was (thankfully no longer the sickly pallid tone from when he lived in the bad side of the city), his neck was always the first thing to show signs of heat, either from the sun or other factors. It would tint a light reddish-pink, barely noticeable to the naked human eye but flashing like an obnoxious neon sign to Julian's vampire sight.

During the days he missed a blood meal, for whatever reason, he often thought of how that pretty neck would feel twitching as he drank from it. And then Julian would become mortified at his own internal monologue and escape the torment by watching videos of puppies or of his own dogs. Anything, really.

Finished with all the activities one did in a shower, Julian sighed as he twisted the dial to shut off the water, stepping out to dry himself off.

Slipping into a clean pair of boxers, refreshed and ready to rejoin Mason, Julian froze when, after opening the door with his towel furiously rubbing the last stubborn drops from his hair, he met the gaze of the one to share his bed. Granted, said stare was from the lad as he sat on the bed, but it was still a shock.

Especially since he wasn't wearing his contact lens and Mason was _holding_ the container they laid in.

So, to clarify for Julian's shock jumbled brain, Mason was looking right into crimson eyes and not running away screaming, like any human would be bound to do. He wasn't smiling either, but there was no fear on his face. Just disappointment.

"Would you... have... ever told... me?"

Gaping like a fish, floundering for the right words, Julian could only settle with a nod. Straightforward and to the point. Words might mix up what he meant anyway. However, Mason demanded an answer in words with his next soft spoken question.

"Why?"

Tearing his inhuman gaze from Mason, Julian looked down at the floor, taking the towel from his head and placing it in a corner, to be taken down in the morning to be washed.

"I didn't want to scare any of you... And I didn't want you to see what I've become..."

Instead of Mason whimpering that Julian couldn't trust him, his ears picked up gentle steps before a hand touched his cheek. A willing touch. Mason was touching him! Even though he was a monster.

The hand coaxed Julian to again see Mason's face, but there was a little happy smile on the boy's lips. There was no stutter or pause when he spoke this time, so sure of the oath he breathed life into.

"I like you, no matter what."


End file.
